Mashable

In an era of body modifications, animatronic masks and advanced cosplay, it's worth remembering that sometimes all you need to generate a sensation of utter terror is a pumpkin, a sheet and a very long stick.

c. 1865

A white-caped figure wearing a Halloween pumpkin mask takes two people by surprise in their kitchen.

Image: London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images

c. 1905

A person, possibly a teacher, wearing a ghost costume behind a lunch table with Halloween decorations in a rural schoolhouse.

Image: Historic Photo Archive/Getty Images

c. 1900s

A young man dressed up for Halloween, advertising Spratt's dog cakes.

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c. 1910

A "coven of witches" line up for a Halloween portrait dressed in festive hats and improvised costumes, United States.

Image: Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

c. 1929

Three girls amuse each other with their masked costumes as they prepare for Halloween festivities in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Image: Felix Koch/Cincinnati Museum Center/Getty Images

c. 1930

The Hon Mrs Roland Cubitt dressed as "Three Candles" in a costume made by L & H Nathan Ltd., for the Pageant Of The Superstitions, a feature of the 'All Halloween Ball," and repeated as a matinee at the Haymarket Theatre, London, in aid of the Queen Charlotte Maternity Hospital Maintenance Fund.

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c. 1935

Children "shake hands with the ghost," bobbing for apples into a tub at Halloween.